SAF Opposition Party Criticizes Scrapping of Coal Power Plants

In South Africa, the leader of the opposition Economic Freedom Fighters says his party will stop plans to do away with seven coal-fired power stations. According to the South Africa Daily Guardian, Julius Malema made the comment Saturday while launching his party’s manifesto. He said decommissioning power plants goes against the needs of South Africans. The Guardian says shutting down coal power stations is part of the country’s plan to move away from fossil fuels. Professor Sipho Seepe, a political analyst and former Deputy Vice Chancellor for Institutional Support at the University of Zululand, tells VOA’s James Butty, Malema is right because the issue of load-shedding – or power outages -- is not a technical matter but a political one.